Firefighters were needed to despose of the body of the animal, and were called at around 10.30am on Thursday, October 18.

On arrival in Park Lane near Charvil, Berkshire, members of the crew found the Old River flooded out, and would have to wade into the river to retrieve the animal.

Ian Lucken, from Lands End Equestrian Centre, Whistley Mill Lane, Reading, said: "We received a call from a local fisherman on Wednesday afternoon.

"We went to the location to check the pony. Unfortunately the pony had very clearly passed away.

"At this point we called the fire brigade and the Environment Agency for help.

"While waiting for the fire brigade we could confirm this was not a pony from the centre.

"The fire brigade decided as it was dark that they would wait until the following day to retrieve the body.

"We met them at the river bank the following morning to help retrieve the body. Due to the amount of time the carcass had spent in the water, we offered to dispose of it immediately.

"We do not know where this pony came from and have not been able to locate any potential owners. Due to the decay of the pony we did not feel it would be useful to take photos as he would have been unrecognisable.

"This is a very sad situation. However, we would like to confirm the pony was not in any form owned or looked after by Lands End Equestrian Centre."

Watch manager Geoff Wright of Wokingham Road fire station said: "Unfortunately, no one knows when or how it fell in.

"We used firefighters in dry suits to bring it back to the bank and left it with the owner."